By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM Rory McIlroy is putting together quite a September. Quite a summer, actually. So perhaps it's no surprise that some of the leading golf analysts expect more success from McIlroy next week at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola -- the final leg of the FedExCup Playoffs where $10 million is on the line. While East Lake Golf Club isn't necessarily considered a bomber's paradise -- it tests all facets of one's game -- the long-hitting McIlroy might just be the favorite next week. "I think the way he’s driving it, I think every golf course on the planet sets up well for him," NBC's Roger Maltbie said on Wednesday during a conference call with reporters. McIlroy has won four times on the PGA TOUR this season, including three of his past four events. He enters the TOUR Championship ranked No. 1 in reset FedExCup points, meaning he controls his own destiny with a victory. Both NBC analyst Johnny Miller and Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee said McIlroy's ability to win despite playing with less than his best shows how good he really is. "Everything favors Rory," Miller said. "He won the last two events with his 'C' game on two out of four days and the only guy who ever used to do that was Tiger (Woods). That’s a big advantage when you can have two off-days and still win tournaments against the best players – that’s a pretty comforting thing." McIlroy, sixth in driving distance, also ranks second on TOUR in approaches from 200-225 yards and fourth from 175-200 yards. "His driver and long-iron combination is the biggest weapon in golf," Chamblee said. "His ability to hit those sky-high irons -- it separated Jack, it separated Tiger and it’s separating Rory." McIlroy will appear on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show tonight, which airs at 12:35 a.m. ET on NBC. NBC and Golf Channel will have 23 hours of tournament coverage during the TOUR Championship.

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM Given the same modern-day equipment, Johnny Miller thinks Tiger Woods would have been much longer than Rory McIlroy at the early stages of their careers. While discussing next week's TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Miller, the NBC golf analyst, said Woods would have hit the ball some 20 yards farther off the tee than McIlroy. McIlroy, sixth in driving distance on the PGA TOUR at 309.8 yards, has won three of his past four tournaments, including the Deutsche Bank Championship and last week's BMW Championship in the Playoffs. Woods is right behind McIlroy at No. 2 in the FedExCup standings and is 34th in driving distance (297.3). "They’re both long," Miller said. "I will say if Tiger had the ball and the clubs they use now and he was 19 years old he would fly McIlroy by 15, 20 yards. "Tiger had 132 miles of clubhead speed when he was 19 or 20. Nobody's even been in that league. He would make Bubba Watson look like an average hitter if he was 19." In his first season on the PGA TOUR in 1996, Woods, then 20 years old, would have ranked No. 1 in driving distance at 302.8 yards if he played in enough events. John Daly was the official leader in driving distance in 1996 at 288.8 yards. For the rest of the 1990s, Woods averaged in the 290s. Do you agree with Miller? Let us know in the comments section below.

By Sean Cochran, Golf Fitness

Distance with the driver, 3-wood, long irons, or even the scoring clubs is undoubtedly one of the most sought after improvements within the game of golf, and how to improve distance is one of the most frequently asked questions.

A number of components have a bearing on improving distance. Equipment appropriately fitted to your golf swing will be of benefit. Increasing the efficiency by which the golf swing is executed will invariably equate to increased swing speeds. Finally, a fitness component exists in the pursuit of distance.

The body executes the golf swing and generates speed within the biomechanics of the swing. The amount of speed the body has the ability to produce within the swing is dependent upon the power outputs of the muscular system. A specialized type of training can increase the power outputs of the body, thus providing the golfer with the opportunity to increase swing speeds on the physical side of the distance equation.

This type of training is commonly referred to as plyometric training and increases the ability of your muscular system to generate speed. Relative to the sport of golf, speed development within the swing is acquired from the entire body. Three very good plyometric exercises to develop power for the golf swing are the Scoop Throw, Medicine Ball Side Throw, and Chest Pass.

Scoop Throw (Lower Body Power): Stand facing a concrete wall. Place the body 6-8 feet away from the wall, feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Grasp a 6-12 lb. medicine ball with both hands in front of the hips.

Bend the knees, squat downward, allowing the ball to move in between the legs. Forcefully extend the hips forward and throw the ball forward towards the wall. Catch the medicine ball, return to the starting position of the exercise, and repeat for 6-8 repetitions. Reset your body position between each throw and use the lower body during the exercise.

Medicine Ball Side Throw (Rotary Power): Stand 3-4 feet away from a concrete wall. Stand with the feet shoulder width apart, and knees slightly bent. Grasp a 4-12 lb. medicine ball and place your hands next to the left hip.

Forcefully rotate your hips to the right, throwing the medicine ball against the wall. Allow the hips to rotate and your arms to fully extend. Catch the medicine ball and return to the starting position of the exercise. Do not pause during this exercise but utilize the body’s stretch reflex during this exercise. Repeat the throw for 6-8 repetitions. Repeat the exercise sequence on the opposite side of your body. Create a rhythm with the throwing and catching of the medicine ball.

Chest Pass (Upper Body Power): Stand 6-8 feet away from a concrete wall. Place the feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and hands grasping a 4-12 lb. medicine ball. Place the medicine ball directly in front of the chest.

Step forward towards the wall with the left foot and forcefully extend both arms throwing the medicine ball against the wall. Maintain an upright torso and extend the arms. Catch the ball off the wall, return to the starting position of the exercise and repeat the exercise stepping forward with the opposite foot. Perform 6-8 repetitions. Keep the torso upright and allow the ball to bounce on the floor before catching it on the return.

To learn more about Sean Cochran and his golf fitness training exercises and golf fitness programs go to http://www.seancochran.com

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III has made his four captain's picks, which were announced Tuesday morning in New York. Love selected Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker and Dustin Johnson. "Obviously very excited to be apart of this team," Stricker said. "And that's an understatement." The top 8 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings automatically qualified for the team. Love then had four captain's picks. He went with Stricker (10th in the standings), Furyk (11th), Snedeker (13th) and Johnson (15th). Among the players Love passed on were Hunter Mahan (9th in the standings) -- a two-time PGA TOUR winner this season -- Rickie Fowler (12th) and Bo Van Pelt (14th). Did Love get it right? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy After a fairly quiet year in 2012, a couple 1-hour lessons from local pro Darrell Kestner helped Nick Watney get back in the winner’s circle at The Barclays. Who says you can’t take golf instruction before a big tournament? Kestner -- a great player in his own right -- is one the industry’s most respected teachers so it’s not a surprise to see the impact he had on Watney’s putting stroke. According to reports, Watney was getting too much on his heels at address which would lower the angle of the putter shaft. As a result, the putting stroke was getting too much in-to-out, making it difficult to match the putter face at impact. This is a great example of how the setup can create an environment where the putter head responds in a way leading to the player having to work harder than needed. The goal of the putting setup (including the grip) is to create an environment where the path of the putter head is correct leading to less stress to match the angle of the putter face at impact. Here is how this held true with Watney’s adjustments last week: 1.) Weight should be on the center of the feet. One of the most common errors in the setup is players stand too close to the ball. As a result, the eyes get over the ball but the weight has to counter towards the heels. Therefore, many players need to scoot back away from the ball until they can still get the eyes relatively over the ball with the weight more centered on the balls of their feet. 2.) Putter shaft needs to be vertical enough at address so the forearms can be on the same plane as the putter shaft. If the putter shaft is too low at address then the forearms will be on a much different plane then the putter shaft. To help ensure this, make sure you grip the putter more towards the palms with elbows soft and rolled toward the body. These two setup alignments are just a couple that can lead to a more natural stroke and better results on the greens. Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

FEDEXCUP: Standings | Leaders | 2012 Winners | More By PGATOUR.COM staff Not only did Rory McIlroy win his second major championship on Sunday at Kiawah Island, S.C., he vaulted from eighth to second in the FedExCup standings with a 600-point victory. McIlroy now trails top-ranked Tiger Woods by 177 points with one week to play before the FedExCup Playoffs begin. The Wyndham Championship begins on Thursday at Sedgefield in Greensboro, N.C. The top 125 in the standings qualify for the Playoffs, which begin on Aug. 23 to 26 at The Barclays at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. It's the first of four events concluding with the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola that will crown a champion. McIlroy finished 21st in the FedExCup standings in 2010. After winning the PGA, he gave his season a grade of A-plus. But he's in prime position to make a serious run at the FedExCup. "Hopefully I can play some great golf from now until the end of the year and get myself ready for another great season next year, too," McIlroy said. Woods tied for 11th. He was frustrated with his weekend finish but also looking ahead. Woods won the FedExCup in 2007 and 2009. He finished 132nd in nine events last season, failing to qualify for the Playoffs. "The key is putting myself there each and every time, and you know, I'll start getting them again," Woods said. "So we got a lot of golf to be played the rest of the year, some big events coming up and The Ryder Cup at the end of it. So looking forward to that." Jason Dufner remained third, Zach Johnson moved from second to fourth, and Bubba Watson remained in fifth position. Blake Adams made one of the biggest moves at the PGA, as his seventh-place tie moved him from 87th to 76th. Steve Stricker moved from 12th to 10th and Justin Rose moved from 15th to 12th.

ON THE MARK ARCHIVE: Tips from Mark Immelman By Mark Immelman, Special to PGATOUR.COM It was a tale of two days over the first two rounds at The PGA Championship. The seaside venue brought benign conditions on Day 1 and 44 players took advantage and shot under par. Day 2 was a very, very different proposition. The conditions changed from sublime to ridiculous; the winds off the ocean kicked up and gusted up to 30 miles an hour at times. The average score ballooned to 78.1 and only five players shot under par. In short, arguably the strongest field assembled in the 2012 major championship season was not only challenged physically by the tough golf course, but they were tested emotionally and mentally by the severe conditions. To that point I have two lessons we can learn from the play at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island -- one of those physical and the other mental. To hit good shots in the wind two things are necessary: Ball and club contact must be flush and ball-spin must be reduced. There are a few adjustments you can make to ensure the aforementioned: -- Widen your stance a little and position the ball around the middle of the stance; -- Select an extra club (or more if necessary) and grip down the handle; -- Make a shorter backswing and deliver a sweeping strike into a shorter but balanced follow-through. -- Remember and apply the following key -- "Swing easy when it's breezy." On the mental front, Tiger Woods gave the spectators and the TV viewership a wonderful lesson in discipline and mental control in the high winds on Friday. Woods did not attempt any shot that he did not have the most confidence in during the second round. The entire day he hit either his "stinger" low-ball or his hard fade shot. As far as I was aware, he did not once attempt to hold a draw against the wind; instead he remained disciplined and controlled as he stayed true to his cut-shot. So remember, "swing easy when it's breezy" and, like Tiger, "go with what you know" when the conditions are trying. Mark Immelman, the brother of PGA TOUR professional Trevor Immelman, is a well-respected golf instructor and head coach of the Columbus State University (Ga.) golf team. For more information about Mark and his instruction, visit his web site, markimmelman.com or follow him on Twitter @mark_immelman or “Like” Mark Immelman Golf Instruction on Facebook. He also has a golf instruction e-book called “Consistently Straight Shots – The Simple Solution” available on iTunes/iBooks.

An amazing Tom Kite bunker shot. A winning approach from Ted Potter Jr. See those and the other top shots of the week. Did we get them right or miss any? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Who do you think will win this week's AT&T National at Congressional Country Club? See who our experts thought would play well in our Expert Picks or who might surprise this week in our Sleeper Picks. Write your picks below in the comments section.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

CROMWELL, Conn. -- A visit last week from his old physio from Sweden seemed to pay immediate dividends for Fredrik Jacobson, who tied for 15th at the U.S. Open.

The Swede, who battled a sore back early in the season, is hoping to carry that momentum to this week’s Travelers Championship, where he’s the defending champion.

With TPC River Highlands considerably easier than The Olympic Club, you’d think that wouldn’t be much of a problem. Maybe. Maybe not.

”You give a lot during a major and put a lot into it,” Jacobson said Wednesday. “It just takes a little more out of you. You kind of decompress a little bit afterwards for a day or two and that kind of builds into the next week, which feels normally a little bit more relaxed.”

Jacobson was one of the few players to describe The Olympic Club as “fun” -- a term that certainly suits this course with an abundance of birdies and drivable par-4 15th.

”I thought [Olympic Club] suited me pretty good because I have a tough time sometimes to repeat the same swing 10 times in a row anyway,” Jacobson said. “You have to see the shots and you have to hit shots that you normally don't hit. So I actually enjoyed that and thought it was maybe a little bit of an advantage for me because I do like to hit some different shots.”

Last year, Jacobson didn’t need a lot of shots at TPC River Highlands. He made 21 birdies and just one bogey all week, which included a third-round 63.

“I've got a lot of good memories from last year,” said Jacobson, who joined a long list of past champions who got their first PGA TOUR victory here. “It's always going to be a special place every time I come here.”